ACOUSTIC PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

for rehearsal and practice spaces version 1.2

 INTRODUCTION
why this guide?
In this guide, Acoustic Problems and Solutions, we address some of the most common acoustic problems music educators face in their
rehearsal and practice areas. We help define the problems and explain the steps you can take to fix or at least minimize them. A few solu-
tions are simple, most will require some investment, and in some cases, very little can be done short of renovating your space. But in every
instance, we believe this guide will help you better understand and evaluate your own areas — help you avoid spending time or money on
remedies that don’t actually work — and equip you with a starting point and some facts to advocate effective improvements to your spaces.

ALSO FROM WENGER

• PLANNING GUIDES FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION
Used by thousands of music educators, architects and administrators,
Wenger’s original Planning Guides have helped set some basic facility
standards for effective music education and performance areas. Even
if you are not looking forward to a new construction project, these
guides provide a strong foundation for understanding issues of layout,
acoustics, storage and equipment.

Wenger works with the

American Institute of Architects
Continuing Education System
as a registered AIA/CES provider.

• ELEMENTARY PLANNING GUIDE

This guide covers the basics of creating a general music space for
elementary education. It focuses on the merits of a space that is open
and supports quick, easy transitions of activities, methods and equipment.

• ACOUSTIC PRIMER
Wenger’s Acoustic Primer is written to be a partner document to Wenger’s
other facility guides. On its own, it is also an excellent reference tool to help
educators better understand some of the key acoustic principles and definitions
that affect the areas in which they teach and perform. The Primer breaks the physics
and science of sound into simple terms, graphics and tables that educators,
administrators and architects will quickly understand.

Call Wenger and make these guides part of your personal library.

this wenger publication was reviewed

by professor m. david egan.
Hon. AIA, is a consultant in acoustics and Professor Emeritus at the College of Architecture, Clemson University. He has been principal consultant
of Egan Acoustics in Anderson, South Carolina for more than 35 years. A graduate of Lafayette College (B.S.) and MIT (M.S.), Professor Eagan
also has taught at Tulane University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Washington University. He is
the author of Concepts in Architectural Acoustics, Concepts in Thermal Comfort, Concepts in Building Firesafety, and Concepts in Architectural
Lighting (two editions). In addition to consulting, teaching, and writing, Professor Egan is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, member
of the National Council of Acoustical Consultants, and an Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Distinguished Professor.

educational guides based on our experience and your input

That’s how Wenger Corporation puts our educational guides together. At Wenger Corporation we have over 54 years of experience studying
music education and providing solutions to the needs you face. On staff, we have some of the industry’s leading experts in the field of music
education and performance facilities, acoustics, storage and equipment. We then went to the real experts — music educators. After more than
6,000 surveys, hundreds of interviews and site visits, we focused our attention on topics and problems educators face every day.

The topics we cover in our Wenger guides are a joint effort — a combination of our knowledge, input and writings from leading acousticians,
architects and facility planners, and of course, the creative solutions of individual music educators. There are as many variations on these topics
as there are schools in North America. Although every facility and every situation is unique, Wenger guides will provide a starting point for
addressing many of the questions you have and the problems you face in your facility. We are always working on updated versions and new
topics — call for a current list of Wenger guides for music educators and the spaces in which they teach and perform.

1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
doors and windows.................. 5

walls.................................. 7

FOUR AREAS OF ACOUSTICAL CONCERN

ceilings and floors.................. 9

sound isolation
Here we provide some basic tips for identifying how
unwanted sounds are leaking into your music areas
and how your music may be disturbing classrooms loud room. ..........................13
or office areas nearby. We explain what can be
done with doors, windows walls, floors, ceilings and
ventilation ducts that are often at the root of these
problems.
boomy, bass-heavy room............15

echoes and standing waves.........17

interior room acoustics
This section addresses problems
such as excessively loud rooms,
boominess, dead spots, echoes
and more. It explains how room
size, shape and surface materials poor ensemble —
all affect interior acoustics and difficult to hear....................19
how they can be altered to more
accurately reflect musical sound
in your rehearsal rooms.

mechanical noise. ...................21

mechanical noise
Whooshing ventilation ducts, practice room paradigm............23
vibrating compressor units,
buzzing light ballasts — these
are all unwanted distractions in
a music space. In this section
we offer some suggestions on
how you can minimize these acoustic terms. .....................25
noises in your rehearsal rooms.

bibliography.........................26
practice room acoustics
We expect a lot of musical growth
to happen during student practice
sessions, yet too often the
practice rooms provided are additional readings.................26
terrible acoustical environments.
Solutions for sound isolation
and interior acoustic treatments
or modular options can greatly
improve these important
finding acoustical consultants....26
environments.

additional wenger education and

performance guides.................26

2
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
ACOUSTICIANS AND POOR SOUND ISOLATION IN
EXPERTS LARGE REHEARSAL ROOMS

“
“Noise from other areas of the building gets into my rehearsal room.”
There is no substitute for the

“I am constantly reminded that when we rehearse we cause distractions in adjoin-

consultation and direction of ing classrooms and administration offices.”

“I share a wall with the band room and the noise is a real problem for our choir
acoustic experts and profes- rehearsals.”

sional acousticians. Their input

will help you pinpoint acoustical

problems and understand the

”
“Whenever the building air-conditioning comes on we can hear it all — rhythmic
squeaking, the rumble of the motors and the vibrations of the condenser.”

appropriate corrective mea-

sures. On page 26 we provide

some contact information to

help you get in touch with

acoustic professionals for

assistance on your projects.

3
 SOUND ISOLATION

symptoms of poor sound isolation

Sound travels from one area to another through:

• Closed doors and windows

• Walls

• Ceiling and floor

• Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system ducts and vents

• Cracks and openings

FIGURE 1

4
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
DOORS AND WINDOWS
To provide effective sound
isolation, doors need to be
solidly built with sufficient mass.
Most doors are 13/4" (44 mm)
thick and not built for adequate
sound isolation. They also must
seal tightly around the jamb and
over the threshold to contain
sound.
Windows can provide effec-
tive sound isolation if they are
constructed with two isolating
panes. It is best if each pane is
a different thickness over 1/4"
(6 mm) so they do not resonate
at the same frequency. Also,
separating the panes with an
absorptive air space of at least
2" (51 mm) greatly improves the
sound isolation. Windows that
open should also seal tightly
with gaskets.
5
► door and window checkpoints
• Check the basic structure for problems —
Are your doors too thin?
Are they hollow?
Do your doors have louver panels?
Are windows constructed with a single pane of glass?
How thick is the glass?
• Check tightness —
Are door and window jambs without seals or gaskets, or are the gaskets
worn out, torn away or out of alignment? Check seals by closing the door
or window on a piece of paper. If the paper is easily pulled through the
jamb, and you feel little or no resistance, your seals are not as good as
they should be. Anywhere you can feel air movement or see light shine
through is also a trouble spot.
• Check the sweep-seal at bottom of door —
Does the door bottom seal tightly over threshold?
Again, the paper test works well.
• Look in your building’s design and construction documents to see if you
can find any acoustic specifications for the doors and windows. Be sure
they were followed.
88
Hollow Construction
Non-Gasketed
Jamb
8
Thin, single-pane
Check for gaps by:
window
Light test
and/or
Paper Test
8 8
Sound leaks
Return air
louvers Wide gap at
threshold
FIGURE 2
 SOUND ISOLATION
► door and window solutions

BEST If your doors or windows are not sound-rated, replace them with sound-rated products (STC 43 minimum, see glossary).
SOLUTION See that they are installed and sealed properly.

• For poorly constructed doors, it is possible to increase the sound isolation ability by adding mass with materials like 3/8" (19 mm)
plywood or sheet metal applied to both sides. Evaluate how this may interfere with the leverset, hinges and jamb. For this
solution we recommend working with a carpenter. Also, evaluate the costs of this compared to installing a new door.

• To eliminate sound leaking through a single pane of glass, consider adding a second pane of laminated glass. Use glass
that is at least 1/4" (6 mm) thick and separate the two panes as far apart as possible. Make sure your alterations do not
compromise fire codes and again compare the costs to installing new window units.

• If your doors and windows do not have seals, or they are torn or missing, add new seals. Magnetic seals work the best but,
if they are not an option, make sure to choose a dense, flexible material like neoprene. When the door or window is shut,
the seals should be in line with, and compress against, a flat clean surface. The goal should be an air tight connection.

• Many doors will have a drop-down sweep seal that seals against the threshold when the door is shut. Often these are
simply out of alignment and can be adjusted with a screwdriver. If there is no sweep seal, have one installed. Typically they
consist of a sweep-seal closure and threshold plate. They will require frequent checking to ensure proper alignment.

• For window panes that are loose in their mountings, re-glaze the openings or seal panes to be airtight.

• Evaluate the need for each door and especially windows. In some cases, you may be able to do without them. If you can
wall them in, be sure to check building and fire codes for compliance.

• You can increase the sound isolation of your doorways by adding a second door in front of your original door — similar to
the double doors common between adjoining hotel rooms. This is easiest if your door is recessed or in a slight alcove.
Again the input of an acoustic expert and carpenter are necessary.

• Louvers in a door can simply be taken out and the remaining hole insulated and surfaced with solid boards. Make sure to
check with a mechanical engineer or your building maintenance supervisor to be sure return air circulation will not be
interrupted.

Composite or Solid Construction door

Gasketed perimeter of entire door Absorbing material around

entire perimeter of
window

Double Pane Window

Dead Air Space

1/4" 3/8" (10 mm) thick

(6 mm)
Double Panes

Vary the thickness of glass

panes so that they will not
resonate at the same frequency.

FIGURE 4
Sweep Seal

FIGURE 3

6
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
WALLS
While walls are impenetrable
visual barriers, they are often
poor sound barriers. And keep
in mind it doesn’t take much to
compromise the isolation effec-
tiveness of a wall. In fact if you
had a solid 4' x 8' (1219 X 2438
mm) wall and put a tiny hole
in it the size of a quarter, you
would reduce the effectiveness
of the wall by 80%. Identifying
the trouble spots will require
some thorough checking.
The walls you probably want
to focus on are interior walls,
especially those that are shared
with adjoining classrooms or
office spaces. To provide ade-
quate sound isolation, walls
need to have a great deal of
mass, seal at the floor and ceil-
ing deck, and contain a space
of dead air and insulation.
7
► wall checkpoints
• Start by inspecting your walls. Look for visible gaps or openings. Have
someone go to the other side of your wall and generate noise, then pinpoint
your trouble spots. To the best of your ability, determine the composition of
your walls. Are they cement block? Some lightweight cement block is very
porous and can actually transfer a great deal of sound. If you have wood or
metal studs and a single layer of gypsum board without insulation, you will
probably hear significant noise right though them (figure 7).
• Are your walls sealed along the floor? If you notice sound or air movement
from along the bottom of the wall, check to see if they have been sealed
with a caulking to the floor. You may have to pull back a small section of
trim or mop board. Look for gaps and even light coming though from the
other side.
• Is sound pouring in from the top? Look above your suspended ceiling to
see if the wall extends to the roof deck (figure 5). Often with a suspended
ceiling, walls do not extend all the way up to the roof deck. The walls
should extend to and be sealed at the overhead construction.
• Look at all the places smaller holes have been cut into your walls — switch
plates, electrical boxes, phone and data ports. Often these holes are cut
directly through to the room on the other side and greatly compromise the
sound isolation.
• Look at all of the larger openings in your walls. Doors, windows, ventilation
ducts. Check along the framing to see that the wall is sealed and tight
against the jamb, sill or duct. You may have to pull back some trim to find
the leak.
IMPROPER
8
Wall construction with
no extension to block
open plenum.
Open plenum above ceiling
Suspended sound-absorbing ceiling
Flanking Sound
FIGURE 5
8
Wall is sealed at roof deck PROPER
Not sealed at floor,
gaps covered by
trim or mop board.
FIGURE 6
Wall is sealed at floor
 SOUND ISOLATION
► wall solutions

If you have a wall that is just too thin, look into adding another wall in front of it or even tearing it out and building a
BEST correct, sound isolating wall (figure 8). If you go to this extreme you will also be able to address other issues like
SOLUTION adding insulated, off-set electric boxes and cable runs. We recommend that you consult with an acoustician to
create the proper specifications for reconstructed walls.

• Sealing your walls at the ceiling, floor and around window and door frames is very important and often overlooked during
construction. These gaps can be as large as few inches or just a fraction of an inch and are often hidden under trim strips.
For large gaps, use a material that will be dense and solid — like gypsum board as opposed to just stuffing the space with
fiberglass. For small gaps the only solution may be a silicone caulking.

• Correcting improper wall construction (figure 5) is absolutely critical for adequate sound isolation. It will require a skilled
carpenter to extend the wall to the ceiling deck and seal it correctly. Another option you can look into is a loaded vinyl
sheet plenum barrier. Make sure any work is in keeping with current fire and building codes.

• Back-to-back electrical boxes and cable runs that leak sound can be fixed by horizontally offsetting the boxes and adding
fibrous insulation. Again, hire a professional to do the work. We recommend offsetting the boxes by a minimum of two feet
to assure that at least one stud separates the boxes.

IMPROPER WALL CONSTRUCTION

8
Single row of studs

8
(easily transfers
sound energy to
No insulation opposite side)
in wall cavities

PROPER WALL CONSTRUCTION

8
Single layer of Staggered studs
gypsum board (offset to break path of sound)
(not enough mass)

Insulated airspace
cavity

8
Fibrous Insulation in
Base plate cavity air spaces
not sealed
(sound leak)
FIGURE 7

Double layers of gypsum

Base plate wall board (both sides of
stud framing)
Caulk perimiter
of both gypsum
board layers FIGURE 8

8
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
CEILINGS AND FLOORS
Like a wall, the ceiling and floor
must have sufficient mass to
isolate sound. Ceilings that are
roof decks are often too thin or
constructed with corrugated
steel. And if the ceiling in your
room is the floor for a room
above, you may hear significant
sound transfer. Holes cut into
floors and ceilings for ductwork,
electrical and plumbing can
also cause problems unless
correctly detailed.
9
► ceiling and floor checkpoints
• Check the construction of your ceilings.
a. If it is concrete (figure 9), sound isolation problems are probably the
result of sound transmission from loud class activity on the floor
above, adjoining areas, or from building machinery.
b. If your ceiling is also the building roof and made of corrugated steel,
it may not have enough mass to isolate sound.
• Check your floors and ceilings for improperly sealed wall seams and holes.
Look around conduit, ductwork, pipes and plumbing and check them for
sound, light or air movement.
8
Sound
radiated
through
floors
FIGURE 9
8
Sound transfer along
horizontal surfaces.
 SOUND ISOLATION
► ceiling and floor solutions
• If you suspect your ceiling does not have enough mass and you are hearing noise like airplanes or rain, add a suspended
sound-isolating ceiling supported by acoustical hangers (figure 10) to increase the overhead sound isolation. Bring in an
acoustician to evaluate your situation.

• Metal roofs are often corrugated and not sealed to the walls (figure 11). Trusses are another typical trouble spot for
isolation. Make sure common openings between rooms are sealed.

• If you are experiencing sound transmission coming into your room from the floor, you may need to consider installing a
floated floor (figure 10). Again, this is an expensive and complex solution that will require the input of an acoustician
or architect.

• To seal holes around pipes, conduit, vents, etc., patch opening with gypsum board or other heavy material and caulk
perimeter joint at penetration with an acoustical sealant.

Neoprene isolation hanger

Solid gypsum board ceiling

FIGURE 10
Floated floor
Gaps in the contours of Corrugated
roofs should be filled
8
Unfilled
gaps

Resilient isolation pad (neopren or compressed glass fiber)

Concrete structural slab

FIGURE 11

10
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
MUSIC ROOM INTERIOR ACOUSTIC PROBLEMS IN
ACOUSTICS REQUIRE REHEARSAL ROOMS
SPECIAL ATTENTION
related to size, shape and surfaces

“
Most of the classrooms in a “My room is too loud, my ears are ringing every day.”

school are designed for

“The room has a boomy, bass-heavy sound.”
lecture-based education.

Acoustically, these rooms need

“The room is hard to hear in, I can’t pick out the parts and some sections are totally lost.”
only support speech communi-

cation. Just the opposite is true “There are strange echoes and some frequencies seem to buzz.”

”
in music areas where construc-
“The room eats up sound... so little comes back it’s just a dead room.”
tion and finishes that are fine for

classrooms can cause acoustic

problems in the music area. A

square room with carpet and a

9' (2743 mm) ceiling maybe fine

for English, but disastrous for

music education. We often find

that while a bad music room can’t

be made acoustically perfect

without major reconstruction, it

can usually be improved. This

section focuses on identifying the

root causes of acoustic problems

in music rehearsal spaces and

suggests some of the steps you

can take to make improvements.

11
 INTERIOR ROOM ACOUSTICS

interior acoustic problems

The size, shape and surface materials of a rehearsal area all play key roles in defining the acoustics of the space.
If something in your room isn’t right, there are a variety of problems you may be hearing.

• The room is too loud

• The room is boomy and bass-heavy

• Echoes, flutters and frequency anomalies

• Difficult to hear in — hot spots, dead spots, muddy sound, excess reverberation

Parellel hard surface

walls cause echoes

Buildup of sound is too loud

12
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
LOUD ROOM
A loud room is one of the most
► loud room checkpoints
• Check your room’s size, the crucial measurement is cubic volume —
square footage multiplied by ceiling height (figure 12). Even if your room
seems big, make sure it isn’t all floor space — your ceilings should be at
least 16’ high. Compare with Wenger’s rule-of-thumb guidelines (table 1),
and make sure to factor in the size of your ensembles.

• Evaluate the surfaces in your room. Are you surrounded by hard reflective
common complaints in rehearsal
materials on your ceiling, floor and walls (figure 13)? If you are, excess
loudness is just one of a number of problems you may be hearing (also
see echoes and standing waves on page 17).
areas. Usually this is a result of
HOW MUCH CUBIC VOLUME IS ENOUGH?
rule of thumb
small rooms that do not
ROOM CLASS SIZE CEILING HEIGHT FLOOR SPACE ROOM CUBIC VOLUME
TYPICAL RESULTING

Choral Rehearsal 60-80 students 16-20' (4877-6096 mm) 1,800 sq. ft. 28,800 - 36,000 cu. ft.
Band/Orchestra Rehearsal 60-75 students 18-22' (5486-6706 mm) 2,500 sq. ft. 45,000 - 55,000 cu. ft.
provide adequate cubic TABLE 1

volume. Hard, reflective

surfaces in your room may

Height
also contribute to excessive

loudness.
Cubic volume formula:
Length x Width x Height = Cubic Volume
th
ng
Le

Width

FIGURE 12
materials to avoid
Don’t use thin drapes, foam,
carpet or thin panels to absorb

8
sound. These materials just do

8
Low
Bare reflective
not have the physical proper- wall surfaces
ceiling
height
ties necessary for broad-range
musical sound absorption.
9’
In fact, when used they are
almost guaranteed to create
more problems than they solve.
Remember, solutions that work
in lecture-based class rooms
may not work in music areas. FIGURE 13

13
 INTERIOR ROOM ACOUSTICS
► loud room solutions

Find a way to increase the cubic volume of your space. This can be done in a number of ways such as removing
a portion of your suspended ceiling. If you have closed risers, see if they can be removed and rehearse on a flat
BEST floor or on portable open riser units that connect the cubic volume underneath to room. Remove a wall and expand your
SOLUTION
room (figure 14). No matter how you increase cubic volume, we first recommend the consultation of an acoustician.
For any structural modifications, work with your architect.

• If your space is too small and can’t be made larger, you will be limited in what can be done to reduce loudness.
Look into other larger areas in the facility where you might be able to relocate rehearsals.
> 3"
(76 mm)
• Remove whatever you can to make more room for sound. Relocate cabinets, desks, marching band equipment, etc.

Backup wall
• If your room is surrounded by individual practice rooms, open their doors when they are not being used to increase the
acoustic volume of your rehearsal room.

• Sound absorption panels, when properly applied, are another way to quiet a room. To be effective across a broad
frequency range they should be at least 3" (76 mm) thick (figure 16). Absorptive panels are also used to treat a number
of other acoustic problems and must always be used in conjunction with diffusive surfaces. Consult an acoustician or a
company experienced in acoustical panel solutions.

• Heavy curtains can also provide acoustic absorption when properly applied. Use 18 oz. velour curtains hung at 100%
fullness, about 12" (305 mm) in front of a reflecting wall. This trapped air space is critical to enhancing the low-frequency
absorption effect of the curtain (figure 15).

• As a last resort, you can consider reducing sound energy by splitting rehearsal times and reducing your group sizes.

Expand cubic volume of space

by raising ceiling and/or remove
wall between adjacent room
Heavy 18 oz. curtains, hung
12" (305 mm) in front of wall (to
absorb a broad range of musical
sound).

12" (305 mm)

wide airspace

Masonry wall

FIGURE 14 FIGURE 15

> 3"
(76 mm)
Backup wall

Thick absorption (at least 3"

(76 mm) deep to absorb a
broad range of musical sound.)

FIGURE 16

14
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
BOOMY, BASS-HEAVY ► boomy, bass-heavy room checkpoints
• Check your room’s cubic volume and compare with Wenger’s
ROOM rule-of-thumb guidelines (table 1, page 13).

• Evaluate the surface materials in your room. Boominess is often the result
Sometimes rooms are mistaken of attempting to quiet a room with the wrong materials — carpeted walls,
egg-crate foam, thin absorber panels, thin drapes, standard ceiling tiles.
These are all problem materials that will strip out the higher frequencies
to be too loud when in fact the leaving lower frequencies unaffected.

real problems are exaggerated

low frequencies which make the

room boomy and bass-heavy.

Backup wall
In a room like this, there are

things happening that are

stripping out the higher

8Do not use
thin panels

Thin sound-absorbing panel

frequencies while leaving

the lower frequencies unaffect-

ed. Usually this is the result of

8
Shallow

Backup wall
Do not use
air space thin drapes

improper surface treatments. In

simple terms, surface treatments

Thin drape
Backup wall

that are too thin can absorb

high frequencies like flutes and

harmonic overtones, but do not

have the physical characteris-

Backup wall

tics to absorb powerful low

8
frequency sound. The result is
Do not use
carpet
a room that absorbs high fre-
Thin carpet

quencies thereby accentuating

the low end.

FIGURE 17

15
 Backup wall
INTERIOR ROOM ACOUSTICS
►boomy, bass-heavy room solutions
• Remove thin curtains and carpet (especially on walls) and replace with materials that will provide effective
absorption across a broad frequency range.

• Apply absorption panels at least 3" (76 mm) thick. The thicker the absorber, the more the loudness of bass frequencies is
reduced. These solutions may require the involvement of acoustic professionals.

• Replace reflective ceiling tiles with 1" (25 mm) thick acoustically absorptive (rated at NRC 0.95 or higher) fiberglass panels
(figure 19). Remember the more space above these panels, the better the low frequency absorption.

8
Backup wall

Suspended
standard
ceiling tiles

Ceiling tiles reflect sound and

provide only selective absorption
at higher frequencies.
Backup wall

FIGURE 18

Porous suspended ceilings

absorb a broad frequency range
by trapping low frequencies in
the air space.

Suspended ceiling rated at NRC > 0.95 2' (610 mm) or more depth above tiles
Backup wall

3”

Thick sound-absorbing
wall panel

FIGURE 19

16
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
ECHOES AND
STANDING WAVES
Room shape and surface materials
play the biggest role in creating
► echoes and standing waves checkpoints
• Look at the shape of your room.
a. Square rooms are the worst for echo and standing wave problems.
b. Rectangular rooms, have large reflective walls which often create
slap echoes and flutter echoes.
• Look at the surfaces of the walls and ceiling in your room. Are they brick,
concrete, ceramic tile, glass, or other flat reflective materials? If so, they will
need to be treated.

unwanted echoes and frequency

anomalies such as standing waves.

Parallel, flat untreated reflective

surfaces such as brick or concrete 8 Square

room

block walls facing each other are

usually to blame. Keep in mind that

the two largest facing surfaces in most

Untreated

8
rooms are the floor and ceiling. reflective wall
surfaces
(sound waves
persist between
parallel walls)

FIGURE 20
leave the floor
untreated
In most cases, musical sound
reacts best to a wood or tile
floor. Surfaces like this provide
quick, early reflections to each
musician. Carpet will strip out
the higher frequencies providing
only selective reflection. Rooms
that generally provide the most
satisfaction have untreated
floors with acoustical treatments
on the walls and ceiling.

17
 INTERIOR ROOM ACOUSTICS
► echoes and standing waves solutions
• The primary goal is to minimize parallel, reflective paths between the surfaces in your room. This is best accomplished
with a combination of diffusive and absorptive treatments. These are easily applied to walls and ceilings. Again, we
recommend the consultation of professionals experienced in rehearsal room acoustics and treatment solutions.

• To treat large glass surfaces, add heavy, velour drapes over sections of the windows.

• Walls may be splayed or angled but to be effective this must be done on two planes - for example a sawtooth wall would
also need to be slanted from floor to ceiling. You will need to consult an acoustician.

Sound diffuser panel

Sound diffuser panel

Sound-absorbing panel

Heavy curtains
in front of window

FIGURE 21

Top View

P
ER

Section View Side View Ceiling CL

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CL A
SS

CL AR
RI ETS

IO

A
NE

FL R
N

UT
IN ETS

TS
IN
ES

BAS
FRENCH HORN

PERCUSSION
TRUMPETS
S CLARINET
SA
FL

U
U TES
FL
XO O
BA

TR

HO TES
P

RI

O
T

NE NES
BA
MB
RI
O

ES SAX
N

TO
NE

TU

S
BA

Ideal construction incorporates

non-parallel sloped walls. Typically
this construction is prohibitive due
to cost and complexities.

18
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
POOR ENSEMBLE —
DIFFICULT TO HEAR
Rooms that are simply
described as “difficult in which
to hear” usually are exhibiting
problems related to room shape
and interior treatments. Hot
spots, dead spots, excessive
reverberation, a lack of clarity
or a combination of these types
of problems make proper
► poor ensemble — difficult to hear checkpoints
• These problems are often the result of a number of variables and are
difficult to pinpoint to one treatable issue. The best thing you can do is to
concentrate on what you are, and are not, hearing in your room. Make sure
to move around the space to evaluate the acoustical differences within the
room itself.
• Be sure to look at room shape. Concave ceilings and curved walls focus
sound energy creating hot and dead spots (figure 23).
• Surface material also plays a critical role.
a. An overly sound-absorbing space with lots of carpet, drapes and/or
panels can create a very dead room.
b. Conversely, a lack of absorption creates an excessively
reverberant room.
• A room without reflective diffusive surfaces will almost always result in
poor ensemble.

ensemble difficult if not impossi-

ble. These problems are usually
treatable with the proper mix of
absorption and diffusion. If your
room is difficult to hear in as a
8 Low
ceilings

result of competing noise, see

Ceiling height = 8' (2438 mm)

the Sound Isolation section
(page 5-10) and Mechanical
Noise section (page 21-22).

absorption and diffusion

work together. FIGURE 22

Too often absorption treatments

top view

Dead Spot
are applied without properly

8
integrating diffusion. It is important
top view

top view
Concave Dead Spot
to understand that for a music surfaces
Hot Spot Dea
space to support critical listening,
Dead Spot
qualities of absorption and Hot Spot

diffusion must interact. While

proper absorption can balance
the dynamics of frequency and
control loudness, diffusion must
also be present to scatter and Dead Spot
blend musical sound. An acoustical Dead Spot
consultant experienced in music FIGURE 23

rehearsal rooms will be able to

recommend the proper interaction
between absorption and diffusion.

19
 INTERIOR ROOM ACOUSTICS
► poor ensemble — difficult to hear solutions

BEST Have your room evaluated by an acoustical consultant experienced in rehearsal room acoustics. The solution
SOLUTION should be a proper balance of absorption and diffusion on the walls and ceiling (figure 24). Make sure to use
proper materials that will be effective across a broad frequency range.

• If your structural ceiling deck is less than 10' (3048 mm) above the floor (figure 22), you will need to start looking for a new

top view

top view
Dead Spot
space. Ceilings this low make proper diffusion and the resulting ensemble impossible to achieve.

• Be prepared if your acoustical consultant wants to undo some improper treatments in your room. If your walls are carpeted
for example, you mayHot
need
Spotto remove the carpet. Suspended ceiling panels areDead Spot
another existing treatment that may need
to be altered.

• Another key element of proper ensemble are reverberation times that, among other things, give a musical space a quality
of presence. A space that provides musicians with a sense of presence will return reflections to the musicians with enough
delay after the primary sound so that the human ear can process the information. Musicians often refer to a space like
this by saying that they can “hear their sound out in the room.” See table 2 for Wenger guidelines of reverberation times that
create a musically supportive space without being overly reverberant. A trained acoustical professional can help evaluate
the reverberation in your areas.
Dead Spot
• Assure that your treatments are properly located to the exact specifications of your acoustical consultant.

Sound-diffusing panel
Ceiling height (18' (8486 mm) or higher)

Sound-absorbing panel

FIGURE 24

RECOMMENDED REVERBERATION TIMES

ROOM REVERBERATION TIME

Choral Rehearsal up to 1.3 seconds
Band/Orchestra Rehearsal 0.8 - 1.0 seconds
TABLE 2

20
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
MECHANICAL NOISE
There are a wide variety of
building systems and equipment
within a room that can generate
unwanted noise. The biggest
culprits are the heating,
ventilation and air-conditioning
(HVAC) systems. However,
lighting systems, in-room
appliances, and even the
compressor on a drinking
fountain can all create nuisance
sounds in a music room. Not
only do they create distractions
from musical sound but they
can mask certain musical fre-
quencies making them difficult
or impossible to hear. With
proper isolation and treatment,
unwanted mechanical noises
can usually be fixed or quieted.
21
MECHANICAL NOISE PROBLEMS
“
“The whooshing of air from the vents in my room creates a white noise and makes it
really difficult to focus on the subtleties of our music.”
“The air conditioning units for the building are right over our room.”
”
“Our ductwork channels the noise of our heating system and we hear the rattles
and squeaks from the boiler room like it was next door.”
► mechanical noise checkpoints
• Are you hearing an annoying whooshing sound from your air outlet vents?
This is usually the result of openings that are too small and/or tight
grillwork (such as perforated metal) that restricts the airflow (figure 27).
• If the HVAC systems mechanical rooms are near or adjacent to your
music room you will probably be distracted with compressor noise and
vibrations. Find the equipment — look on the roof over your room, outside
your room on the ground level or below your room in a basement. If this
equipment is not properly isolated it will transfer low-frequency sound
right through the building structure (figure 25).
• Listen for sound coming from your vents. If your HVAC equipment is far
away, and you are still hearing compressor noise, rattles and squeaks,
your ductwork is channeling the noise into your room. If you are hearing
the sounds of adjacent rooms through your vents, your ducts again are
creating a channel for the noise.
• Noise often is created by worn bearings and belts, lack of lubrication, or
even improperly balanced air distribution systems. Be sure to regularly
maintain HVAC equipment.
• Are your lights buzzing? Transformers and old-style (electromechanical)
fluorescent light ballasts create a very distinct and buzzing noise that
masks musical sound. Be sure ballasts are rated for low noise output.
 MECHANICAL NOISE

► mechanical noise solutions

• Remember, music rooms need nearly twice the rate of fresh-air exchange as a classroom of equal size due to the physical
activity of making music. As a result, vent openings need to be large with open grillwork (figure 28). Work with your
building engineers to solve the problem of small vents and heavily screened grills.

• If the HVAC system mechanical rooms are too close to your room the best solution is to relocate them. If this is not a
possibility, contact an acoustic professional and determine what type of sound isolators could be installed to resolve the
problem. Often, springs and neoprene isolators can “decouple” the equipment from the surrounding structure (figure 26).

• Ductwork that is channeling sound can be quieted with sound absorptive linings or baffles (called “sound atteuuators”).
Again the help of an acoustical professional and your building engineer will be necessary.

• Squeaks and rattles are usually an indication that HVAC systems need some maintenance. Ask your building engineer if
lubrication, new bearings and belts or any other procedure might quiet the system.

• Quieting noisy light transformers and ballasts is easy and saves energy. Electronic ballasts with an “A” sound rating are
quiet and consume less energy. Work with your building engineer to get your lighting systems updated.

8
INCORRECT
Vibrating mechanical Airborne CORRECT
Mechanical equipment bolted to the
equipment bolted to sound Mechanical system vibration can be
floor transmits vibration directly to the
Airborne the floor reduced by mounting the equipment
structure. This construction method is
sound on steel spring isolators.
unacceptable in the Music Suite.

Rigid base
Structure-borne sound steel-spring
Reduced level of
isolators
structure-borne
sound

Floor slab Floor slab

Column
Column
Reduced level of transmitted
Transmitted noise and vibrations noise and vibrations

FIGURE 25 FIGURE 26

Slot louvers

Wide opening
th
Leng
Width

8
WH Small vent
OO size (l x w)
SH
and small
openings
FIGURE 27 Large vent
and
open grill
No “whooshes”!

FIGURE 28

22
 ACOUSTICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
THE PRACTICE ROOM PRACTICE ROOM ACOUSTIC PROBLEMS
PARADIGM

Just like large rehearsal rooms,
good practice rooms must
provide sound isolation and
musically supportive interior
acoustics. Unfortunately prac-
tice rooms are among the worst
music spaces possible because
“
“We haven’t used our practice rooms for years because they don’t contain
sound — in one we store candy, in the others we keep our marching band
equipment.”
“We have a row of practice rooms, but we only use every other room. It’s the
only way to control the sound.”

”
they break the first rule of good
acoustics — they do not provide
enough cubic volume to properly “We’ve put a lot of money into thicker doors and insulated walls, but you can
dissipate the sound energy cre- still hear the practice rooms loud and clear from the band room.”
ated within. The best of these
rooms will be heavily absorbed
so that the sound in the room
is balanced across a broad fre-
quency range. An unavoidable
result of the heavy absorption is
a room that is acoustically very
dry. While these dry spaces can ►practice room problems checkpoints
be appropriate to work on basic • We recommend the input of an acoustic professional to help
evaluate your rooms.
technique and the mechanics of
making music, they are acous- • Evaluate sound isolation. Do your practice rooms leak sound? Have
tically opposite of the environ- someone play an instrument in the room and if possible pinpoint the
ments in which musicians would trouble spots — pay close attention to the door, window, electrical
boxes, ventilation ducts and walls. With most built-in practice rooms,
choose to perform.
it is common that there are a number of trouble spots and it may be
difficult to identify them all. Refer to pages 3-10 — all of the same
active acoustic technology. rules apply for checking things like gaskets on doors, wall con
Active Acoustics utilize electronics, struction, sealed ceilings, etc.
computer technology and digital
signal processing to acoustically
• Evaluate interior acoustics. Is the room treated with any absorption?
treat an environment. This cut-
ting-edge technology is used to If not, hard reflective surfaces in a practice room will further complicate
create virtual acoustic spaces and the acoustic qualities of these small areas. Because practice rooms
is rapidly being adopted around have such limited cubic volume, you will typically experience a wide
the world to turn poor musical envi- range of overlapping acoustic shortcomings. Most often the room will
ronments into great environments seem too loud and will accentuate the bass frequencies. You may
with the push of a button. In music also notice that it is difficult to hear all of the sound qualities you
practice rooms, active acoustics would expect. This is due, in part, to the fact that reflections are
has changed the practice para- returning too quickly for your ear to distinguish the critical components
digm — now it is possible to recre- of the sound.
ate the acoustic support of a world-
class auditorium in a practice room • Evaluate HVAC and electrical system noise. Pay attention to other
that may not be any larger than a
possible problems like noisy ventilation ducts, HVAC systems or
closet. Active Acoustics can also
buzzing light ballasts. Refer to pages 21-22 for a broader explanation
be used to treat a large rehearsal
room, not only giving it variable of diagnosing and solving unwanted mechanical noise.
acoustic options, but also solving
acoustic problems without renova-
tion or construction.

23
 PRACTICE ROOM PROBLEMS
► practice room solutions

BEST Practice rooms need to isolate sound and the type of construction necessary to ensure good sound isolation is
SOLUTION very complex and costly. The best way to ensure that your rooms will function properly is to replace them with
pre-engineered, modular solutions (figure 29). Too often we have seen time and money invested into isolating
doors and construction only to have the rooms fail due to small, overlooked details such as back-to-back electrical
boxes. As a result, the guarantee of pre-engineered solutions, combined with the ability to relocate them, ensures
a sound investment that will last well into the future.

• With the consultation of an acoustic professional, you may be able to improve the isolation qualities of your
built-in rooms. Typically this will require many of the same steps described on pages 3-10. Walls will need to be
built with sound-isolating construction techniques (figure 8, page 8) and sealed at the floor and ceiling (figure 6,
page 7). Doors and windows will need to be properly constructed and gasketed (figures 3 and 4, page 6).

• Ventilation ducts will provide the best isolation if they are lined internally with absorption and separately feed each room
off a main duct (figure 31).

• If you are fortunate enough to have a practice room that isolates sound, the best thing you can do for the internal
acoustics is to add a significant amount of thick absorption material. The rule of thumb for a practice room is 3"
(76 mm) thick fibrous absorption covering more than 30% of the room’s surfaces. The result will be an acoustically
dry space, but at least it will provide balanced absorption across a broad frequency range.

• Active Acoustic treatment (figure 30) is another way to solve the acoustical shortfall of practice rooms, and also
provide musicians with virtual music environments that can be changed with the push of a button. These solutions
are based on digital signal processing and computer models of acoustic spaces that are musically supportive.
For these treatments to work, your room will first require a heavy application of absorptive material.

Air duct supply

INCORRECT VENTILATION
Direct ventilation supply ducts channel
mechanical noise and carry sound
directly from room to room. Plenum is
Plenum return
open path for noise transmission.

Acoustically lined
takeoff branches CORRECT VENTILATION
Individual takeoff branches feed each
Air duct supply room from the main supply duct
positioned outside the rooms. Return
Air duct return air also through separate air ducts.
FIGURE 31

PRE-ENGINEERED
PRACTICE ROOM
Enhanced DSP
and electronics

FIGURE 29 Microphone

Speaker

ACTIVE ACOUSTICS
Using a base of wall and ceiling absorber panels,
active acoustics use speakers, microphones and
digital signal processing (DSP) to simulate acoustic
environments for practice and performance.

FIGURE 30

24
 GLOSSARY
additional acoustic terms

Active Acoustics:
Also referred to as electronic architecture or “virtual acoustics.” Electronic devices (such as microphones, loud speakers, digital signal
processors) are used to enhance the natural acoustics of a space. Effective active acoustics are also dependent on the correct room
treatment with passive acoustics.

Echoes:
Echoes are produced when surfaces reflect sound to the listener after the direct sound from the source has been heard.
For example, horn sections on stage may create a distracting echo off the back wall of an auditorium. Although both absorbers and
diffusers can help correct this type of echo, diffusers are generally preferred because more sound energy will be conserved.

Flutter:
Flutter echoes occur when a sound source is situated between parallel, sound-reflecting surfaces. The effect is a prolonged buzzing sound.
For example, a rim shot off a snare drum in an untreated room will produce a distinct flutter echo.

Masking:
Masking occurs when an unwanted noise conflicts with or masks a musician’s ability to hear musical sounds of a similar or higher pitch.
For example, the whooshing noise of air coming out of an air supply duct can mask musical sound.

NC:
Noise Criteria is: A single number rating to quantify the level of background noise. The lower the NC, the quieter the space.

Passive Acoustics:
This term refers to the use of architectural (non-electronic) design and acoustical surface treatments to create a musical space.
Primarily broken down into absorptive and diffusive properties, elements such as geometric wall and ceiling shape and acoustic
panels on walls and ceilings are examples of passive acoustics.

Reflection:
Sound reflection off a hard surface can be compared to the reflection of light off a mirror. Without reflective surfaces such as acoustical shells
and overheads on a proscenium stage, for example, sound energy may be dissipated or absorbed without ever reaching the audience.

Sound Transmission Path:

Air borne: Sound that is transmitted through the air than strikes a barrier and is retransmitted on the other side.

STC:
Sound Transmission Class is: Single number rating system for describing the amount of sound isolation provided by a construction element
(i.e. wall, door, window). Typically the STC rating best represents a construction ability to isolate speech. The higher the STC number,
measured in the lab, the greater the sound isolation by the construction element.

Structure/Flanking:
Sound that is transmitted by direct contact with the sound source, such as an air compressor attached to a room duck or the legs of a
ground piano in contact with the floor.

NIC:
Noise Isolation Class is: Similar to STC, but takes into account all parts of a structure enclosing a room.
The higher the NIC, the greater the sound isolation between rooms.

NRC:
Noise Reduction Coefficient is: Single number describing the average amount of absorption (measured in percent of perfect absorption)
at octave band frequencies at 250Hz, 500Hz, 1kHz and 2kHz. It provides a good estimate of absorption when used for the speech range,
but has limited value when used for music applications since it ignores frequencies below 176Hz and above 2825Hz.

25
 CONSULTANTS AND PRODUCTS
bibliography
Architectural Acoustics by M. David Egan; 1988 by McGraw-Hill; ISBN: 0-07-019111-5

Architectural Acoustics by M. David Egan; 2007 by J. Ross Publishing; ISBN: 13: 978-1932159783

Architectural Acoustics:
Principles and Practice; edited by William J. Cavanaugh and Joseph A. Wilkes; 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; ISBN: 0-471-30682-7

Acoustics by Charles M. Salter Associates, Inc.; 1998 by William Stout Publishers; ISBN: 0-9651144-6-5

Wenger Planning Guide for Secondary School Music Facilities

additional readings
Architectural Acoustics:
Principles and Design by Madan Mehta, James Johnson and Jorge Rocafort; 1999 by Prentice-Hall, Inc.; ISBN: 0-13-793795-4

Acoustics and Noise Control Handbook for Architects and Builders;

by Leland K. Irvine and Roy L. Richards; 1998 by Krieger Publishing Company; ISBN: 0-89464-922-1

Auditorium Acoustics and Architectural Design by Michael Barron; 1993 by E & FN Spon; ISBN: 0-442-31623-2

Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Second Edition by Leo Beranek; 2004 by Springer-Verlag; ISBN: 0-387-95524-0

Sound System Engineering - Second Edition by Don and Carolyn Davis; 1992 by Howard Sams & Co.; ISBN: 0-672-21857-7

Music and Concert Hall Acoustics edited by Yoichi Ando and Dennis Noson; 1997 by Academic Press Limited; ISBN: 0-12-059555-9

Architectural Acoustics by Marshall Long; 2006 by Elsevier Academic Press; ISBN 10: 0-12-455551-9

The Acoustics of Performance Halls by J. Christopher Jaffe; 2010 by W.W. Norton Company, Inc.; ISBN: 978-0-393-73255-9

Deaf Architects & Blind Acousticians?

A Guide to the Principles of Sound Design by Robert E. Apfel; 1998 by Apple Enterprises Press; ISBN: 0-9663331-0-1

finding acoustical consultants and professionals

Contact: National Council of Acoustical Consultants (NCAC)
9100 Purdue Road, Suite 200
Indianapolis, IN 46268
(317) 328-0642 Fax: (317) 328-4629
Website: www.ncac.com

Contact: Wenger Corporation

555 Park Drive
P.O. Box 448
Owatonna, MN 55060-0448
1-800-733-0393 Fax: (507) 455-4258
Website: www.wengercorp.com

additional wenger education and performance guides

Planning Guide for Secondary School Music Facilities

Planning Guid for Music Facilities

Elementary Planning Guide

Acoustic Primer

Acoustical Problems and Solutions for Rehearsal and Practice Spaces

Planning Guide for Performance Spaces

26
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USA/2-18/200/W/LT0153D

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